Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Receives $285.71 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $291.43.

Several research analysts have commented on AIT shares. Mizuho assumed coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total transaction of $1,126,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at $15,689,882.76. This represents a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 42.6% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 3.5 %

AIT opened at $263.46 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1 year low of $176.32 and a 1 year high of $282.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $257.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 3.78. The company has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 15.10%.

About Applied Industrial Technologies

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc distributes industrial motion, power, control, and automation technology solutions in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. It operates in two segments, Service Center Based Distribution, and Engineered Solutions. The company distributes bearings, power transmission products, engineered fluid power components and systems, specialty flow control solutions, advanced automation products, industrial rubber products, linear motion components, automation solutions, tools, safety products, oilfield supplies, and other industrial and maintenance supplies; and motors, belting, drives, couplings, pumps, hydraulic and pneumatic components, filtration supplies, valves, fittings, process instrumentation, actuators, and hoses, filtration supplies, as well as other related supplies for general operational needs of customers' machinery and equipment.